Scotland can realise the employment, economic and environmental benefits of carbon storage. A consortium of Scottish Government, industry and researchers has shown that rocks deep beneath the Moray Firth are capable of storing decades of CO2 output from Scotland’s power stations. This emerging Carbon Capture and Storage {CCS} industry could create at least 13,000 new Scottish jobs by 2020.

These are key findings of the report, ‘Progressing Scotland’s CO2 storage opportunities’, which was recently published.

Detailed research calculates that rock, known as the Captain Sandstone, buried more than half a mile beneath the Moray Firth could store at least 15 years’, and potentially a century’s worth of CO2 output from Scotland’s power industry. Professor Eric Mackay from Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS), says “This is an exciting and landmark moment in the development of carbon capture and storage. The Captain Sandstone is just one of many rock formations filled with salt water in the central and northern North Sea. We have shown that this is a feasible site that could store massive amounts of CO2, helping the UK meet its targets for carbon emissions reduction. The future potential for this and other areas of the North Sea is immense.”

The SCCS research, funded by Scottish Government and a group of businesses within the energy sector, also showed that carbon capture and storage could create 13,000 jobs in Scotland by 2020, and another 14,000 elsewhere in the UK, spread across a wide range of skills. This would increase in subsequent years. Properly developed, the UK’s share of worldwide carbon capture and storage business could be worth more than £10 billion a year by around 2025.

Professor Mackay continues: “Our research indicates CO2 output captured from a fossil fuel-fired power station, like the existing plant at Longannet or Peterhead or any future capture projects such as at Hunterston, could be stored beneath the North Sea. The unique combination of government, industry and research capability provides Scotland with the opportunity to lead the way in the development of CCS. We look forward to further assessment of this and other parts of the North Sea to maximise the economic benefits.”

Scottish Energy Minister Jim Mather says: “This latest research further strengthens Scotland’s position as the number one location for CCS technology development and deployment in the world. In depleted oil and gas fields and in its natural geology, the North Sea has an amazing carbon storage potential – the largest offshore storage capacity in Europe – offering up the prospect of thousands of new low carbon jobs being created in Scotland as CCS technology develops.”

Scotland’s potentially massive offshore CO2 storage capacity is of European significance. The European Union has specified that three of the eight CCS demonstrator plants that it will fund under its multi-billion euro demonstrator programme must inject into saline aquifers. The results from this study place Scotland in a strong position to secure future EU support for more detailed assessment of CO2 storage in saline aquifers.

Renewable energy sources accounted for 62% (17GW) of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009, according to the ‘Renewable Energy Snapshots’ report, published recently by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The share rose from 57% in 2008. For the second year running, wind energy accounted for the largest share of the new capacity – 10.2 GW out of the 27.5 GW built, representing 38% of the total. In absolute terms, renewables produced 19.9% of Europe’s electricity consumption last year.

In 2009, and in absolute terms, about 19.9% (608 TWh) of Europe’s total electricity consumption (3042 TWh) came from renewable energy sources. Hydro power contributed the largest share (11.6%), followed by wind (4.2%), biomass (3.5%), and solar (0.4%).

With regards to the new capacity constructed that same year (27.5 GW), among the renewable sources, 37.1% was wind power, 21% photovoltaics (PV), 2.1% biomass, 1.4% hydro and 0.4% concentrated solar power, whereas the rest were gas fired power stations (24%), coal fired power stations (8.7%), oil (2.1%), waste incineration (1.6%) and nuclear (1.6%).

If current growth rates are maintained, in 2020 up to 1400 TWh of electricity could be generated from renewable sources, the report concludes. This would account for approximately 35-40% of overall electricity consumption in the EU, depending on the success of community policies on electricity efficiency, and would contribute significantly to the fulfillment of the 20% target for energy generation from renewables.

However, the report advises that some issues need to be resolved if the targets are to be met. Particular areas of focus include ensuring fair access to grids, substantial public R&D support, and the adaptation of current electricity systems to accommodate renewable electricity. The study highlights that cost reduction and accelerated implementation will depend on the production volume and not on time.

Summary of 2010 Snapshot Findings

Wind energy: with more than 74 GW of total installed capacity in 2009, has already exceeded the 2010 white paper target of 40 GW by more than 80%. The European Wind Association’s new target aims for 230 GW of installed capacity (40 GW offshore) by 2020, capable of providing about 20% of Europe’s electricity demand.

Biomass: if current growth continues, electricity output from biomass could double from 2008 to 2010 (from 108 TWh to 200 TWh). However, other energy uses such as heat and transport fuels compete for this particular source, which could potentially hinder the development of bioelectricity. Being storable for use on demand increases its importance as a source of electricity.

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP): installed capacity is still relatively small in Europe: 0.430 GW in May 2010, about 0.5% of the total, but is steadily increasing. An estimated 30 GW could be installed by 2020 if the European Solar Industry Initiative ESII is realised. Most CSP projects currently under construction are located in Spain.

Technologies such as geothermal, tidal and wave power have not yet been included in the Renewable Energy Snapshots.

Solar Photovoltaic:

since 2003, the total installed capacity has doubled each year. In 2009 it reached 16 GW, which represents 2% of the overall capacity. The growth will continue, as for 2010, installations of up to 10 GW are expected. Solar photovoltaic has also exceeded the capacity predictions formulated by in the EU white paper on renewable sources of energy.

Other sources of power: technologies such as geothermal, tidal and wave power are still at the R&D stage, so they have not yet been included in the Renewable Energy Snapshots. Yet, they are likely to be introduced to the market within the next decade. As far as hydro generation is concerned, no major increase is expected, as most of the resources are already in use. However, pumped hydro will play an increasingly important role as in a storage capacity for the other renewable energy resources.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) legislation of the EU. EIAs are carried out to make sure that the environmental impact of projects is taken into account before final decisions are made. Plans for roads, waste installations, power stations and a range of other projects must go through an EIA.

The original EIA Directive is now 25 years old and needs a re-vamp, says the Commission. EU policy and case law from the European Court need to be reflected better in the law on EIAs. And the Commission wants to see stream-lining of assessment procedures where possible.

The consultation will run until 24 September 2010 and will feed into a revised Directive planned for next year.

The consultation covers issues such as the screening of projects for EIA, the quality of the EIA process, the harmonisation of assessment requirements among Member States, cross-border difficulties when projects affect more than one Member State, the role of the environmental authorities, and development of synergies with other EU policies, such as climate change and biodiversity.

Commissioner for Environment Janez Potocnik.

The findings of the consultation will feed into a Commission review next year. All interested parties – citizens, stakeholders and organisations involved in environmental assessments – are invited to respond to the public consultation by 24th September 2010. The questionnaire is available in all 22 Community languages.

“Environmental Impact Assessments are one of our most important tools, because if the proper consultations are carried out when a project is launched, there is a much smaller risk of legal action at the end of the process. But we need to make sure that the form they take is suitable for a Europe with 27 countries. So I am looking forward to input from all sides, allowing us to examine these issues carefully and to work out what new measures might be needed,” says Commissioner for Environment Janez Potocnik.

The consultation document is available at: www.ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/eia.htm.

Information on the EIA Directive is available at: www.ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/home.htm.